Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., ranks No. 1 for neurology and neurosurgery in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings. Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., are ranked among the Best Hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery by U.S. News & World Report.

Your doctor may diagnose intracranial venous malformations during testing for other neurological conditions. You often don't experience symptoms.

Your doctor may order imaging tests to diagnose intracranial venous malformations or other neurological conditions, such as:

Computerized tomography (CT) scan. A CT scan creates a series of X-rays to create detailed, cross-sectional images of your blood vessels and your brain. Sometimes a doctor may inject a dye into a vein to view the blood vessels in greater detail (CT angiogram or CT venogram).

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this test, magnetic and radio waves create detailed 3-D images of your blood vessels and your brain. Sometimes a doctor may inject a contrast dye into your blood vessels to make your blood vessels visible on the images (magnetic resonance angiography or magnetic resonance venography).

Doctors trained in brain and nervous system conditions (neurology), brain and nervous system surgery (neurosurgery), brain imaging (neuroradiology), and other areas work together to appropriately manage intracranial venous malformations and other neurological conditions.

Doctors usually don't treat intracranial venous malformations, because they rarely cause any symptoms. If you do experience symptoms, such as headaches, your doctor may give you medications.

People who have intracranial venous malformations rarely may experience seizures or bleeding in the brain (brain hemorrhage), which usually is caused by other vascular malformations that can be found in association with a venous malformation. Your doctor typically treats seizures with medications.

Some hemorrhages may require surgery, but many hemorrhages may be treated with medical management and close observation, at least initially in the hospital setting.

Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people. In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.

For appointments or more information, call the Central Appointment Office at 800-446-2279 (toll-free) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, Monday through Friday or complete an online appointment request form.

Mayo Clinic doctors trained in brain and nervous system conditions (neurologists) and other specialties study clinical and laboratory research related to intracranial venous malformations and other neurological conditions. Learn more on the neurology research website.

See a list of publications by Mayo doctors on intracranial venous malformations and other vascular malformations at PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.

References

Arteriovenous malformations and other vascular lesions of the central nervous system fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/avms/detail_avms.htm. Accessed May 4, 2014.

Ogilvy CS, et al. Recommendations for the management of intracranial arteriovenous malformations: A statement for healthcare professionals from a special writing group of the Stroke Council, American Stroke Association. Stroke. 2001;32:1458.

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